exclamation point

American  

noun

• exclamation points
  plural

1. the sign (!) used in writing after an exclamation.

2. this mark sometimes used in writing two or more times in succession to indicate intensity of emotion, loudness, etc..

   Long live the Queen!!

3. this mark sometimes used without accompanying words in writing direct discourse to indicate a speaker's dumbfounded astonishment.

   “His wife just gave birth to quintuplets.”(!)

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exclamation point Cultural  

1. A punctuation mark (!) used after an abrupt and emphatic statement or after a command: “‘Help!’ he cried, as his boat floated toward the edge of Niagara Falls.”

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• exclamation points
  plural

Etymology

Origin of exclamation point

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exclamation point

The rally puts an exclamation point on the stock’s turnaround this month, as the narrative around how AI would affect many software stocks seems to have reversed to positive from negative.

From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026

“All that did was put an exclamation point on it,” Brunner said.

From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026

The Grammys were an appropriate exclamation point on an extraordinary year that has cemented the 31-year-old's reign over global music.

From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026

In a follow-up, the AI made sure to use at least one exclamation point.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026

Heartsick, I ripped the letter down to its last exclamation point and flung it like confetti out into the water.

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson